Media player with networked playback control and advertisement insertion

ABSTRACT

A media player enables insertion of advertising content during playback of received content. This facilitates targeted product placement, advertisements, and the like. The media player identifies an advertising insertion event, which may be based on a viewer profile. Upon identification of an advertising insertion event, the media player varies playback of the received content to add advertising information.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/843,049, filed on Mar. 15, 2013, entitled “MEDIA PLAYER WITHNETWORKED PLAYBACK CONTROL AND ADVERTISEMENT INSERTION,” the entiredisclosure of which is hereby fully incorporated by reference herein inits entirety, and which claims priority to the following applications asfollows:

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/843,049 is a continuation-in-part ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/631,171, filed Dec. 4, 2009,entitled “MEDIA PLAYER WITH NETWORKED PLAYBACK CONTROL AND ADVERTISEMENTINSERTION,” which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/679,059, filed Feb. 26, 2007, entitled “VARIATION ANDCONTROL OF SENSORY WORK PLAYBACK,” the entire disclosures of which areboth hereby fully incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/843,049 is also acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/631,132,filed Dec. 4, 2009, entitled “SOCIAL NETWORK-DRIVEN MEDIA PLAYER SYSTEMAND METHOD,” which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/679,059, filed Feb. 26, 2007, entitled “VARIATION ANDCONTROL OF SENSORY WORK PLAYBACK,” the entire disclosures of which areboth hereby fully incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/843,049 is also acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/631,108,filed Dec. 4, 2009, entitled “NETWORK MEDIA PLAYER WITH USER-GENERATEDPLAYBACK CONTROL,” which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/679,059, filed Feb. 26, 2007, entitled“VARIATION AND CONTROL OF SENSORY WORK PLAYBACK,” the entire disclosuresof which are both hereby fully incorporated by reference herein in theirentireties.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/843,049 is also acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/631,158,filed Dec. 4, 2009, entitled “NETWORK MEDIA PLAYER AND OVERLAY FEATURE,”which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/679,059, filed Feb. 26, 2007, entitled “VARIATION AND CONTROL OFSENSORY WORK PLAYBACK,” the entire disclosures of which are both herebyfully incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Briefly, and in general terms, this disclosure relates to systems andmethods for user-generated playback control in network media players.

BACKGROUND

Personal Video Recorders (PVRs) have revolutionized the way manyconsumers watch television. Similar to a video cassette recorder (VCR),a PVR allows a user to record shows for viewing at a later time;however, PVRs offer many additional features including the ability topause and rewind a live television broadcast.

With many cable companies and satellite providers offering over 100channels of programming, it can be a daunting task to find theprogramming that a subscriber would like to watch. Many PVRs offer waysto manage or reduce complexity. For example, a PVR may allow subscribersto record shows by title whenever they are shown so that a subscriberdoes not need to be concerned when a favorite program moves from Mondaynight to Thursday night. Some PVRs allow programs to be recorded bycategories and/or keywords. For example, this allows someone interestedin remodeling a bathroom to record home improvement television programswith “bathroom” in their title description.

PVRs reduce the complexity and improve the ability to record shows thata subscriber desires to watch; however, PVR functionality stops there.Once a subscriber has recorded shows, they can be played back, paused,fast forwarded, rewound, and the like; however, the viewer typicallymanually controls this functionality.

Television programs are recorded on PVRs (and otherwise) by individualswith different tastes, preferences, purposes, and the like For example,one person may record the Super Bowl to watch football, while anothermay record it to watch the pre-game and half-time programming, andanother may record it to watch new commercials. Each of theseindividuals, using a conventional PVR would desire to playback the showin a different manner.

It is desirable to provide a mechanism to create, use, and/or sharedifferent playbacks of television programs and other sensory works. Forexample, it is desirable to provide an individual who has recorded theSuper Bowl only to watch the commercials with the ability to playbackhis recording of the Super Bowl on his PVR such that only thecommercials are shown. Similarly, an individual who has recorded theSuper Bowl only for the football may desire to only see each footballplay during playback.

This disclosure discusses techniques and systems that may be used tocreate metadata or the like that controls or varies the playback of asensory work, such as, a television program.

SUMMARY

One embodiment provides a non-transitory computer readable storagemedium storing one or more computer programs adapted to cause aprocessor based system to execute steps comprising: receiving content;accessing a computer network and locating a plurality of differentplayback control records created for the content, wherein each of theplurality of different playback control records are configured to varythe content during playback of the content by both (a) inserting atleast one advertisement into the content and by (b) varying the contentin at least one other manner chosen by a creator of each respectiveplayback control record; receiving at least one of the located playbackcontrol records; receiving the at least one advertisement; and varyingthe content during playback of the content according to the at least onelocated playback control record.

Another embodiment provides a method, comprising: receiving content;accessing a computer network, by a processor based apparatus, andlocating a plurality of different playback control records created forthe content, wherein each of the plurality of different playback controlrecords are configured to vary the content during playback of thecontent by both (a) inserting at least one advertisement into thecontent and by (b) varying the content in at least one other mannerchosen by a creator of each respective playback control record;receiving at least one of the located playback control records;receiving the at least one advertisement; and varying the content duringplayback of the content according to the at least one located playbackcontrol record.

Another embodiment provides a media player, comprising: a networkinterface; an output port; and a processor configured to receivecontent, and access a computer network via the network interface andlocate a plurality of different playback control records created for thecontent, wherein each of the plurality of different playback controlrecords are configured to vary the content during playback of thecontent by both (a) inserting at least one advertisement into thecontent and by (b) varying the content in at least one other mannerchosen by a creator of each respective playback control record; whereinthe processor is further configured to receive at least one of thelocated playback control records, receive the at least oneadvertisement, vary the content during playback of the content accordingto the at least one located playback control record, and output thevaried content to the output port.

In one general aspect, a method for inserting advertising content duringcontent playback in a media player includes receiving content, receivingadvertising content, identifying an advertising content insertion event,and, in response to the identified advertising content insertion event,varying the playback of the received content to insert the advertisingcontent.

The details of one or more implementations are set forth in theaccompanying drawings and the description below. Other features andadvantages will be apparent from the description and drawings, and fromthe claims.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a sensory work playback system.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a sensory work playback device.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of method for altering the playback of a sensorywork.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a digital video recorder implementation and alegacy video player implementation of a sensory work playback system.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of a collaborative sensory work playback system.

FIG. 6 depicts a network media player.

FIG. 7 illustrates a network media player that enables the playbackcontrol of input content received from various sources.

FIGS. 8 and 9 are diagrams of single-source playback control in anetwork media player.

FIG. 10 illustrates the creation of a playback control record.

FIG. 11 depicts text overlay in a network media player.

FIG. 12 is a diagram of multiple-source playback control in a networkmedia player.

FIG. 13 depicts playback control in a network media player.

FIG. 14 is a diagram of member's voting in a social-driver media playersystem.

FIG. 15 is a screenshot showing available playback controls andassociated popularity in a social-driver media player system.

FIG. 16 is a media player playback control selection screen.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1, a sensory work playback system 10 includes at leastone sensory work output device 12 coupled to a sensory playback device14 such that the sensory output device 12 is operable to stimulate atleast one of a stimulatory experient's 16 senses by varying the playbackof a sensory work 18 based on a playback control record 20. For purposesof this disclosure, a stimulatory experient 16 is one whose senses arestimulated by a sensory output device 12. The sensory playback device 14is operable to control or vary the playback of the sensory work 18 basedon a playback control record 20.

A sensory work output device 12 is any apparatus operable to stimulateat least one sense of a stimulatory experient 16, whether by electrical,mechanical, chemical, thermal, and/or biological mechanisms. By way ofexample, and not by way of limitation, sensory work output devices 12include the following and the like: video display devices, such astelevisions, monitors, display panels, whether standalone or embedded(e.g., a mobile telephone display, a portable DVD player, or a handheldvideo game unit); audio devices, such as speakers, headsets, andearphones; and tactile devices, such as virtual reality gloves,automated massage chairs, computer-controlled exercise equipment,simulators (e.g., flight simulators, firearm training simulators,driving simulators, and the like), and haptic devices (e.g., video gamecontrollers). One skilled in the art will appreciate that the devices,systems, and techniques described herein are widely applicable toexisting and future sensory work output technologies.

A sensory playback device 14 is any device operable to control a sensorywork output device 12. By way of example, and not by way of limitation,sensory playback device 14 may be embodied as a digital video recorder(DVR), video cassette recorder, digital entertainment center, cable box,computer, radio (either terrestrial or satellite), cassette player,digital music player, CD player, DVD player, Blu-ray Disc player,automated massage chair, electronically controlled exercise devices,personal digital assistants (PDAs), digital book viewing devices, andthe like.

The most common sensory works 18 in use today include audio recordingsand motion pictures. However, as used herein, sensory work 18 refers toany work fixed in a tangible form of expression usable by sensoryplayback device 14 to stimulate at least one sense of a stimulatoryexperient 16, whether by electrical, mechanical, chemical, thermal,and/or biological mechanisms. It should be stated that at work “fixed”in tangible form may include dynamic content and blog material. Suchmaterial may be considered “fixed” with respect to the state and/or thecontent of the video blog at any instant of time; however, the inventorrecognizes that the present invention may be used to control playback ofsuch dynamic community content, including video or blog content.

The following sensory works 18, provided for purposes of explanation,are not intended to be limiting:

1. Motion Pictures and Television Programs. Audiovisual works such asmovies and television shows may be obtained from many sources. Forexample, they may be purchased or rented on Blu-ray Discs, DVDs, videotapes, Universal Media Discs (UMDs), and the like. In addition, they maybe watched or recorded from cable, satellite, or over-the-airbroadcasts, and stored for later playback. Also, they may be streamed ordownloaded over a data network.

2. Music and Audio Books. Audio recordings of music and audio books arecommonly available for purchase on tapes, CDs, DVDs, UMDs, Blu-rayDiscs, and the like. Additionally, music and audio books may be streamedor downloaded using a data network. Finally, music and audio programmingis commonly broadcast by radio stations, satellite radio companies, andby various entities on the Internet. Audio data may be stored in a widevariety of formats, such as, for example, Audio CD format, MPEG-1 AudioLayer 3 (MP3) format, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) format, and the like.

3. iFIT Workouts. Certain exercise equipment, such as treadmills,exercise bikes, elliptical trainers, and the like have been enabled toreceive signals from data cartridges, videotapes, audio recordings,DVDs, and the like to vary aspects of a workout. For example, an iFITvideotape can be used to control a treadmill—during an exercise session,such that a user views a video of a path through a scenic locale, andthe speed, and level of incline are varied as the video is played.

4. Digital Books. Books may now be purchased entirely in electronicformat for use on a computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), or anelectronic device designed for this purpose. Images of pages in thedigital book are displayed such that a reader may read just as with aconventional printed book, with certain added abilities to search,bookmark, annotate, and the like.

5. Internet. The Internet provides a source of a wide-variety of staticand dynamic data. It may be desirable to vary a user's interaction withInternet websites and downloaded data based on defined metadata.

6. Network Media Players. Devices are available that consumers may useto playback certain media. For example, a network media player may beused to receive content across a data network from local and/or remotedestinations, and playback the received media. For example, a networkmedia player may be used to retrieve any media including digital audiocontent (such as, for example, music, audio books, podcasts, and thelike), video content (such as, for example, movies, television programs,music videos, and the like) from a home media server and playback thatcontent.

7. Emerging and New Formats & Technologies. Various new electricaland/or mechanical devices that now support or could foreseeably supportthe playback of sensory works 18 have emerged. For example, amusementrides, robotic massage chairs, laser light show devices,electronically-controlled holiday lighting, video game systems,simulators, and the like.

One skilled in the art will appreciate that the systems and techniquesdescribed herein are applicable to any sensory work 18 including thosethat stimulate one's senses of sight, smell, taste, touch, or hearing,and any combination thereof.

Playback Control Records

Playback control records 20 include various data usable by a sensoryplayback device 14 to vary or control the playback of a sensory work 18.One skilled in the art will appreciate that playback control records 20may be represented and stored using any conventional data storage anddata access techniques. For example, one implementation of a sensorywork playback system 10 uses playback control records 20 remotely storedon a server in XML format and transmitted to a sensory playback device14 as necessary to vary or control the playback of a sensory work 18.Playback control records 20 may include one or more of the followingelements: playback variation & control operations; identification of asensory work 18; and/or a frame of reference. Also, playback controlrecords 20 may include whatever additional information may be desiredfor a particular embodiment. For example, some embodiments use playbackcontrol records 20 having a title, an author, a creation date, and thelike.

Playback Variation & Control Operations

This section discusses the various operations that may be applied tovary or control the playback of a sensory work 18.

Deletion

It may be desirable to delete or skip certain segments of a sensory work18. For example, some viewers of a movie or television program maydesire to skip commercials and/or unwanted content for a wide variety ofreasons, including a desire to remove content believed to be harmful,inappropriate, or otherwise undesirable; to remove content immaterial orunimportant for a particular viewer's purposes or uses; or to removecontent of a lesser priority.

Consider, for example, a viewer who records the television program“Survivor” on his or her PVR. If the viewer is able to watch the programevery week, he or she may desire to see the entire program (except forthe commercials); however, if the viewer misses a couple of programs, hemay be less interested in seeing the entire program for all but the mostrecent showing and simply catch the highlights, such that they can watchthe most recent broadcast in full. Based on the particular viewer'sneeds and/or purposes, different portions of the broadcast would bedesirable to skip over or be deleted during playback.

For another example, consider a user who has recorded the AcademyAwards, a broadcast that attracts the interest of many different groupsof viewers. Viewers recording this event may be interested incelebrities; entertainment news; movies; a particular actor, actress,screenwriter, director, and/or movie; musical entertainment; and thelike. Different groups of viewers may prefer to watch different portionsof the broadcast. Thus, it is desirable to delete or skip portions ofthe broadcast to provide a custom viewing experience for each group.

Reordering

In some instances, it may be desirable to view or experience certainsegments of a sensory work 18 in a different order than that intended bythe broadcaster, producer, and/or author.

For example, when listening to music, groups of listeners may wish toplay music tracks in a different order than they appear on an album. Itis desirable to reorder the playback of segment of a sensory work 18.

Overlaying

In some instances, it may be desirable to overlay information during theplayback of a sensory work 18.

For example, if a website providing metadata or the like to vary theplayback and/or control of a television program publishes suchinformation such that users may access the metadata to collapse ordelete content that they do not wish to see, that website may wish toinsert advertising data by overlaying a mark, brand, or other identifierduring playback.

Additionally, it may be desirable to insert custom screen tickers,product placements, subtitles, dubbing, images, and the like duringplayback for a wide variety of reasons.

Playback Speed

In some instances, it may be desirable to vary the playback speed ofcertain segments of a sensory work 18.

For example, advertisers have found that many PVR users fast-forwardthrough commercials. Some innovative advertisers have incorporated1-second segments within broadcasts that are effectively only usable byPVR users who pause playback to view the content. It may be desirable tovary playback such that portions of a broadcast are shown paused for afew seconds, shown in slow motion, or shown in fast forward motion,depending on the circumstances.

Additionally, it may be useful to be able to create custom “instantreplays” during the playback of a sporting event (or any other program).This would allow, for example, a user to create metadata such that acertain play in a football game would be viewed in slow motion.

Insertion

In some instances, it may be desirable to insert additional information,video, audio, and the like, during the playback of a sensory work 18.

For example, a user may desire to insert media from another source, fromanother segment within the same source, or to insert new data. Oneimplementation of this technique would be to insert profile-basedadvertising during playback. For example, during the playback of theSuper Bowl, viewers may be shown advertisements based on demographics orany other information available. Thus, viewers living within one censusblock group may be shown a Lexus advertisement, while those in anothercensus block group may be shown a Toyota advertisement.

Additionally, this technique may be used to add information to a programto create a new program commenting on it, or to otherwise create aderivative work. For example, playback of a broadcast of the State ofthe Union may be modified by inserting commentary or additional footage.Additionally, playback may be modified for satirical or comedicpurposes.

Presentation

In some instances, it may be desirable to modify the presentation of thesensory work 18. For example, one viewer may choose to present acolorized movie in the original black and white version or vice versa.Similarly, other aspects of the display and presentation are allowed tosuit the viewer's preferences.

Other

The implementations discussed above are provided for purposes of exampleonly. One skilled in the art will appreciate that any variations,modifications, and/or control of the playback of a sensory work 18 iswithin the scope of this disclosure.

Metadata

Any modification to a sensory work 18, such as those variations and/orcontrols mentioned above, may be stored or conceptualized as metadata orother similar control data related to a particular sensory work 18.Metadata as used herein means any control signal or data capable ofperforming the desired function.

Identification of Sensory Work

Metadata affecting the playback variation and/or control of a sensorywork 18 would preferably be associated with a particular sensory work 18and/or a particular instance of a sensory work 18. For example, atelevision program broadcast on NBC-affiliate WRC-TV in Washington, D.C.may show different advertisements than NBC-affiliate KNTV in SanFrancisco. Additionally, a show may be broadcast in different formats,such as Standard Definition (SD) and High-Definition (HD). It isdesirable to associate metadata with sensory works 18 to which themetadata is applicable.

In one implementation, metadata includes a program identifier. Forexample, the program identifier may be “Super Bowl XL”. This techniquemay be suitable for most purposes; however, when there are variationsbetween sources, it may be more desirable to provide separateidentifiers for each source (e.g., “Super Bowl XL:DirecTV”, “SuperBowlXL:Comcast”, “SuperBowl XL:WRC-TV”, and the like).

In an implementation applying metadata to a movie, the movie may beavailable to a viewer who records the movie from broadcast television,from pay-per-view, who plays the movie from DVD, or who obtains themovie across the Internet through a video-on-demand system. Becausethere may be variations between each broadcast (i.e., some may be editedto fit the screen, some may be shown in widescreen, some may havecommercials, and the like), it may be useful to provide anidentification of the movie that takes these differences into account.

One possible solution to this problem is to provide a hierarchicalrepresentation. For example, there may be a broad class entitled “SuperBowl XL” with more specific instances for different sources. Thissolution would allow someone who has obtained video from any source touse the broadest class and to use a more specific instance of metadatawhen available.

Sometimes, a sensory work 18 may be provided with metadata to controlplayback. When the relationship between metadata and a particularsensory work is implicit, there is no need for any reference toapplicable sensory works 18.

Frame of Reference

Once a user has a sensory work 18 and metadata to control or varyplayback, it is useful to determine a common frame of reference. Whensensory works 18 are identical or substantially identical, a frame ofreference may be implicit; however, when there are substantialvariations between sensory work 18 sources, it may be useful to providesome synchronization such that the appropriate information is deleted,inserted, reordered, fast forwarded, or otherwise modified orcontrolled.

There are at least two kinds of sensory works 18: (i) those that aretemporally well-behaved; and (ii) those that are not. A sensory work 18is temporally well-behaved if each playback is relatively coincident intime. For example, movies and audio recordings are temporallywell-behaved because the occurrence of each video and/or audio frame isat substantially the same relative moment during playback (i.e., thesame note is played at approximately the same relative point in time).

For temporally well-behaved sensory works 18, a frame of reference maybe created in time by identifying epoch time t₀ and associating thistime with the playback of the sensory work 18. The kind of associationused will depend on the nature of the sensory work 18. For example, foran audio sensory work 18, the frame of reference may be a waveform, suchthat a sensory playback device 14 may identify the waveform duringplayback and, and thus associate epoch time t₀ with the matchedwaveform.

In some instances, matching a single frame may be insufficient becausethat frame, or one substantially similar, may occur over and over. Thereare many techniques known in the art for identifying video and/or audiorecordings. For example, various video fingerprinting technologies couldbe employed to identify characteristics of a sensory work 18 that arestatistically improbable to occur elsewhere. Such a characteristic maybe used to define the epoch time t₀ either directly or as an offset tothe reference characteristic.

Once a common frame of reference is established, variations and controloperations defined by a playback control record 20 may be applied at adefined instance relative to epoch time t₀.

Some sensory works 18 are not temporally well-behaved, for example,playback may not be deterministic, playback may vary, or playback may beaffected by various external influences. For such a sensory work 18, aplayback control record 20 may define variation and control operationsrelative to events. For example, a playback control record 20 may becreated to modify or vary a video game sensory work 18. Because videogame play is highly dependent on user interactions, it may be moreeffective to define variation and control operations based on theoccurrence of one or more events instead of the lapse of a predeterminedamount of time.

One way to determine a common frame of reference is to set an arbitraryor best guess initial frame of reference and to allow the viewer or userto fine tune playback to account for any differences. For example, itmay be assumed that the metadata references an identical copy of thesensory work 18. If insertions, deletions, and the like are being madeat inappropriate times, the user may vary playback (such as, forexample, by slowing or speeding playback relative to the metadatacontrol, or by skipping frames forwards or backwards relative to themetadata control) to achieve the desired results.

Variation Encoding

One skilled in the art will appreciate that there are countless ways toencode such variations and control of the playback of a sensory work 18.In a preferred embodiment, metadata includes time references withrelation to an identified frame of reference. For example, the metadatamay provide that the initial 2 minutes 23 seconds from the frame ofreference are played and then the next 58 seconds are skipped. Themetadata may then indicate, for example, that other data is theninserted with certain other information overlayed for the next 30seconds, and so on.

Referring to FIG. 2, a sensory playback device 14 includes a processor22 having a sensory work input port 24 operable to receive a sensorywork 18, a storage device 26 for storing a playback control record 20,and a sensory work output port 28 operable to send information to asensory output device 12 to enable the playback of a sensory work 18. Asused herein, “port” is meant to include any device or mechanism by whichthe sensory playback device 14 may input or output data.

Referring to FIG. 3, a method for altering the playback of a sensorywork includes receiving a playback control record 20 (step 30 a),receiving a sensory work 18 (step 30 b), altering the sensory work 18based on the playback control record 20 (step 30 c), and outputting data32 to facilitate altered playback of the sensory work 18 (step 30 d).

Overlays

An overlay is a variation of a sensory work whereby data from at leastone source is added to or otherwise combined with a sensory work to varythe playback of that sensory work. Overlays may include, by way ofexample and not by way of limitation, the following: captioning or othertextual overlays; logos; watermarks; custom screen tickers; subtitles;advertising; and the like. The source of the overlay data may be one ormore sensory works, or it may be otherwise defined. For example, aplayback control record 20 may include information that defines anoverlay without including an image, a video segment, an audio segment,or other sensory work. When the source of the overlay data is not itselfsensory work, the overlay data may be used to generate an intermediatesensory work. This intermediate sensory work is then overlaid as definedby the playback control record 20. Alternatively, the overlay may bedirectly applied according to the playback control record 20 withoutcreating an intermediate sensory work. By way of example, and not by wayof limitation, text can be added to a sensory work as an overlay bygenerating an image corresponding to the text, and then applying thatimage to the sensory work. Alternatively, the sensory work can bemodified during playback to directly apply the defined overlay.

In some implementations, overlays include various characteristics thatcan be selected to vary the location, size, and appearance of theoverlay. Furthermore, these characteristics may be static for theduration of the overlay, or the characteristics may be varied over theduration of the overlay. In this manner, an overlay may, for example, bemoved across the screen, zoomed, faded, rotated, and the like.

Community

A plurality of users forms a “Community.” Within the Community, theusers have access to the sensory work 18, such as, for example, an audiorecording, a movie, television show, a work with tactile elements, lightshow, and the like. The sensory work may be of any form and fromvirtually any source. In addition, a user can have access to themetadata created by another user within the community.

More particularly, and by way of example and not by way of limitation,users within the Community have access to a sensory work. For example,users may have access to the most recent Super Bowl game footage. Thisgame footage may be provided for access such that each user has the samesensory work or a copy of the same sensory work, or users may obtain thesensory work through other means (e.g., from broadcast television,cable, Internet, or satellite). Users within the Community can createmetadata to vary the playback of the game, for example, a user maycreate a Cliff note version of the recent Super Bowl game footage totailor such footage to their needs and/or desires. For example, one usermay tailor the footage so that only the “snaps” for the entire game areincluded within the Cliff note version. In this way, the user can viewthe entire series of plays within the game without all the extraneousmaterial unrelated to such plays. Thereafter, other users can accessthis version or Cliff note of the media and amend it to their needs ordesires. For example, another user may use this version relating to allsnaps within the game, but also add in the half-time show. In this way,users within the Community can collaborate with one another, expresstheir opinions, or merely enjoy the creations of others on relatedthemes. The community further provides for users to vote on variousCliff note versions, to interact with other members of the Community,and to express their interest and preferences. Such interests andpreferences may be tracked and used to provide “user-specific”information to the Community or particular users within the Community.Finally, the summary nature of the Cliff note version allows users toview lengthy amounts of data within a short time period, if desired.

In another embodiment, the Cliff note versions may be supplemented withadditional material from third parties relating to the Cliff noteversion. For example, advertisers may be able to insert advertisementswithin the Cliff note version that are tailored to the needs and/ordesires of the user creating or modifying the Cliff note version.

In practice, each user within the Community will have access to asegment of media or data. This data or media can be sourced from TIVO,television, the Internet, or any other source. Thereafter, the systemwill normalize the segments of the users to determine a common startingpoint for all the segments provided amongst the users. This step isrequired since it is difficult to know where each user's segment beginsdue to the multiple sources of data. Once such starting point isdetermined for all users, reference points contained within the data ormedia may then be used to provide the beginning and end points for theCliff note version of the data/media. Rather than send the entire mediafile, in a preferred embodiment, only the reference points are sharedamongst the users within the community. This provides for accurateediting capabilities, enhanced transfer speeds and minimizes bandwidthissues. Further, the use of reference points makes insertion of datafrom third parties easier.

Normalization of a sensory work may be performed in various ways. Forexample, in some implementations, the first metadata reference pointincludes a fingerprint for a reference frame. This fingerprint may betaken performing calculations based on a single frame or a segment offrames. Any technique may be used to generate the fingerprint such thata user or the user's system may determine the reference used to createthe metadata.

Once a Community is established and users have the desired segment ofdata or media, a user interface allows one or more of the users toaccess their segment and to create a Cliff note version of the data. Thefirst time the specific data or media is accessed, the user is askedwhether they wish to create a Cliff note version. Once a first versionof the Cliff note is created, the reference points for such Cliff noteversion may be stored in a database and accessed by other users withinthe Community. The other users may access the Cliff note version, viewit, modify it, add or delete data to it, and the like. Further, thecommunity can vote on the best version, discuss the various versions,and the like. Awards or prizes may be associated with the versions andprovided and determined by third parties and/or members within theCommunity.

Such a system, as described above, provides an enhanced and creativeenvironment for users to join together with common interests and toindividually or jointly develop creative works or summaries of data ormedia common to or associated amongst all the users. This provides notonly excitement and amusement, but also a forum to express ideas andinterest. Such an environment further provides for a means to track userinterest and preferences so that the Community and/or third parties cantrack and provide information that is tailored to the users and theCommunity within the data and media.

In one implementation, a collaborative community facilitates thecreation, sharing, and use of metadata to control or vary the playbackof a sensory work. In this particular example, the community issupported by the insertion of profile-based advertising during theplayback of the sensory data.

The system provides a mechanism to assist users in identifying the“best” contributed metadata for their purposes. For example, onemechanism that may be used is to allow users to rate metadatacontributions.

Some implementations enable profile-based advertisement swaps such thattargeted advertisements may be inserted during playback of sensory data.To determine which advertisement to insert, the system may use anyavailable information, such as, for example, user preferences, accountdata, census data, demographics, user ratings, past participation in thecommunity, and the like.

IR Blaster Embodiment

The techniques described above may be incorporated in a wide-variety ofconsumer electronics products including electronic music players (e.g.,MP3 players, iPods, and the like, DVRs, personal computers, and thelike). However, these techniques may also be used with legacy consumerelectronics equipment.

Consider, for example, a consumer electronics control device operable tocontrol or vary the playback of a consumer electronics playback device.For example, the control device may include an IR blaster, serialconnection, network connection, and the like, operable to control a VCR,DVR, DVD player, or any other consumer electronic playback device. Inthe IR blaster implementation, the consumer electronics control deviceis operable to read metadata related to the playback of a particularsensory work 18 and to vary or control the playback through a consumerelectronics playback device by sending signals using the IR blaster.

For example, metadata associated with Super Bow XL may identify a frameof reference and state to skip the 56 second segment beginning 7 minutes15 seconds from the frame of reference. To do this, the consumerelectronics control device can initiate a fast-forward operation at the7 minutes 15 seconds point until the 56 second segment is complete.

In some implementations, the IR blaster may be able to simply request a56 second skip; however, for some devices (such as VCRs) the consumerelectronics control device may need information regarding the speed withwhich the consumer electronics playback device fast forwards.

Some implementations maintain a table storing the fast-forward andrewind-rates of various playback devices, along with latency times sothat the consumer electronics control device can accurately performvariations and controls functions specified by the metadata.

Digital Video Recorder Embodiment

FIG. 4 is a diagram of implementations of sensory work playback systems10 for varying and/or controlling the playback of video recordings forviewing by a stimulatory experient 16. In one implementation, a digitalvideo recorder 40 is coupled to a display 42. The digital video recorder40 is operable to perform operations such as those performed byconventional digital video recorders; however, the digital videorecorder 40 is augmented support the variation and control of playback.

In some implementations, the digital video recorder 40 is operable toreceive a playback control record 20 from an external source, such as,across a data network, from computer-readable media, or by user input. Aplayback record may be stored in a memory on the digital video recorder40 and enabled to alter playback. For example, a stimulatory experient16 who has recorded a television broadcast program may download aplayback control record 20 associated with that television broadcastprogram such that he or she may view the program, skipping overcommercials (e.g., by fast forwarding through them, by jumping overthem, or the like).

Some consumers do not have digital video recorders 40 that can beupdated to support the concepts disclosed herein because they are usinglegacy hardware that is not upgradeable. For those consumers, such asowners of conventional video cassette recorders, their legacy videoplayer 50 may be used with a control device 52. The control device 52may use a variety of techniques to control the video player 50, such as,for example, the IR blaster techniques discussed above. For theseconsumers, the control device 52 may be unable to determine informationregarding the video being played. In such case, the control device 52may rely on a stimulatory experient 16 to identify an appropriateplayback control record 20 and to synchronize the execution of theplayback control record 20 with video playback. For example, in someimplementations, the control device 52 is configured to control aprogram loaded into video player 50. The stimulatory experient 16operates the video player 50 to begin play and then initiates control bythe control device 52.

The control device 52 may include a user interface to enable trackingrelative to the current playback. For example, if the control device 52signals the video player 50 to fast-forward through a commercial or aprogram segment too early, then the stimulatory experient 16 may use theinterface relatively slow or speed control in order to synchronize thedevices.

Referring to FIG. 5, a collaborative sensory work playback systemincludes a server 54 coupled to a network 56, such as, for example, theInternet, a wide area network, a local area network, or the like. Theserver 54 operates in conjunction with a database 58 to enable theexchange of playback control records 20. Any database or data storagetechniques may be used such that one or more sensory playback devices 14may interact with the server 54 to submit playback control records 60 orretrieve playback control records 62.

This implementation of a collaborative sensory work playback system maybe used, for example, to enable an online community for sharing playbackcontrol records 20. Any of the techniques described above may be used inthis system. For example, a user in one household having a DVR sensoryplayback device 14 may record a television program on the DVR and createa playback control record 20 that varies the playback of a recordedsensory work, and submit the playback control record 60 the server 54.The playback control record 20 is stored in database 58. Another user,such as, for example, a user in another household, may be use an enabledDVR sensory playback device 14 and search, using server 54, to find anyplayback control records 20 applicable to a particular sensory work 18available to the user. This user may choose to retrieve the playbackcontrol record 62 created and submitted by the first user and use it tovary the playback of the same sensory work 18 recorded on his or herDVR.

Network Media Players

The techniques described above may be embodied in network media players.Referring to FIG. 6, a network media player 600 provides a sensory workplayback system that is network-enabled, providing one or moreinterfaces to a data network. The network media player 600 includes oneor more data networking interfaces, such as, for example, a wirelessand/or wired data networking interface, to enable the media player toreceive one or more sensory works 18. These sensory works 18 may bestored locally for later playback, or may be streamed.

Some implementations of the network media player 600 include a mediareader 602, such as, for example, a Blu-ray Disc drive, a CD drive, aDVD drive, and the like. The media reader 602 may support in addition toor alternatively to the above disc media, any other media including, byway of example and not by limitation, flash memory (e.g., Memory Stickflash memory cards, CompactFlash, SmartMedia, PC Card, SD cards, MMCcards, and the like), hard disk drives, and the like. Further, the mediareader 601 may be implemented as a data port, such as, by way of exampleand not by way of limitation, a USB port, a FireWire port, a serialport, and the like. Using a data port, the network media player 600 mayaccess media stored on a connected device, such as, for example, adigital camera, a video camera, a computer, a mobile electronic device,and the like.

Referring to FIG. 7, the network media player 600 receives a sensorywork 18 for playback from any source including, by way of example andnot by way of limitation, from local media 702 using the media reader602 or other interface device, from remote network sources 606, and fromlocal network sources 704. The network media player 600 may receive asensory work 18 from local media through the media reader 602 asdescribed above. Furthermore, the network media player 600 may beconfigured to receive sensory works 18 across a network (either local orremote). Local network sources 704 include, by way of example and not byway of limitation, media servers, cable set-top boxes, personalcomputers, DVRs, other network media players, and the like. Remotenetwork sources 706 include, by way of example and not by way oflimitation, websites, online retailers, peer-to-peer networks, and thelike.

Academy Awards: Playback of Select Segments Referring to FIG. 8, thenetwork media player 600 permits a user to create a playback controlrecord 20 to vary and control playback using the techniques describedherein above. For example, a user can create a custom viewing experiencethat varies playback as defined by a playback control record 20 usingthe network media player 600 (or other device). Consider for example, auser that wishes to modify playback of his or her recording of theAcademy Awards 802. The Academy Awards 802 can be recorded locally bythe network media player 600, or it may be received from another sourceas discussed above. By way of example, the Academy Awards 802 may beretrieved from a DVR accessible across a local area network, and/or itmay be purchased and downloaded from a website. Actors may appear duringportions of the Academy Awards 802, for example, as award recipients, asaward presenters, as performers, as audience members, and the like. Inthis system, a user may create a playback control record 20 to show onlythose portions of the Academy Awards 802 where a particular actorappears. For example, a user may wish to view those portions of theAcademy Awards 802 where three actors appear: (i) Sean Penn (A1); (ii)Angelina Jolie (A2); and (iii) Kate Winslet (A3). In FIG. 8, thosesegments of the Academy Awards 802 where Sean Penn appears are depictedin 804, those segments of the Academy Awards 802 where Angelina Jolieappears are depicted in 806, and those segments of the Academy Awards802 where Kate Winslet appears are depicted in 808. Identified segmentsof the Academy Awards 802 can be combined as shown in 810 to includeonly those portions where those actors appear.

Referring to FIG. 9, four segments (902, 904, 906, and 908) of theAcademy Awards make up the combined portions where Sean Penn, AngelinaJolie, and Kate Winslet appear. Segment 902 is 2 minutes in length,segment 904 is 1 minute in length, segment 906 is 1 minute in length,and segment 908 is 1 minute 20 seconds in length. During playback, thesesegments (902, 904, 906, and 908) are played consecutively such that thetotal playback time is 4 minutes 20 seconds (i.e., 2+1+1+1:20). Aplayback control record 20 is created to provide information that may beused to control playback in this manner.

Referring to FIG. 10, a user can create a playback control record 1010defining those segments where Angelina Jolie appears (marked A2). Forexample, in one implementation, the user presses a button to identifythe beginning of a segment, and the user presses a button to identifythe end of a segment. In this case, the user presses the appropriatebuttons at 1002, 1004, 1006, and 1008 to identify the relevant begin andend portions of the segment. In some implementations, the system adjuststhe beginning and end points to better capture the user's intention. Forexample, if a user sees Angelina Jolie appear on the screen, and pressesthe button to identify the beginning of an included segment, then therewould be some lag time between when the user decided to include asegment, and when the button was actually pressed. Thus, it may bedesirable for the actual beginning to be slightly before the button waspressed. Likewise, it may be desirable to slightly adjust the end pointto capture the user's intention.

Start points and end points may be adjusted in various ways. Forexample, the points can be adjusted a predetermined period of time(e.g., 2 seconds, 1 second, 500 milliseconds, or any other period oftime). Furthermore, it may be possible to determine the user's intentionbased on characteristics of the program itself. For example, the systemmay identify commercial breaks and set the start point or end pointbased on an identified commercial break if the commercial break fallsnear that point. Other points may be determined by identifyingcharacteristics within the sensory work (e.g., black screen, silence,music, voices, and the like), or by using metadata associated with thework. For example, the Academy Awards 802 may be augmented with metadata(either stored within the work or stored separately) that tags thoseportions of the video. Tags may include, by way of example and not byway of limitation, identification of actors, scenes, music, commercials,and the like.

Playback Control: Overlays

As discussed herein above, playback control records 20 may be used tovary playback in many different ways. For example, a user may create aplayback control record 20 to include a video overlay during playback ofa program. Referring to FIG. 11, a sensory work 1102 includes a segmentrelating to Hilary Swank's movie “P.S. I Love You.” In this example, auser 1110 desires to create an overlay for a portion of the work 1102such that the network media player 600 displays “Hilary Swank: P.S. ILove You” during a corresponding interview segment of the sensory work1102. To do this, the user 1110 creates a playback control record 20that defines an overlay segment (01). The combination of the sensorywork 1102 and the overlay segment (01) are shown in FIG. 11 as 1104.During playback of the segment O1 on a television 1106, the networkmedia player 600 adds the overlay 1108. A user can create the overlay byidentifying a start point and an end point, along with the text, video,and/or audio to be overlayed on sensory work 1102. FIG. 11 depicts auser 1110 typing text for an overlay using a keyboard 1112.

In some implementations, it may be desirable to enable the user tocontrol various characteristic of the overlay. For example, a user maybe given the option to vary the opacity, the color, the font, thebackground, and the like for the overlay. Furthermore, a user may begiven the option to vary the location, shape, size, and position of theoverlay. This could allow a user, for example, to include a cartoon-likecaption. Analogous controls also may be provided for audio overlays.

Furthermore, overlays may be user-generated or network-generated.User-generated overlays can be used to create custom playback ofcontent. For example, a user could overlay a frame image, add a ticketbar, place a logo in the corner of the screen, add a sound track, orperform any other overlay function. This can also be done using anetwork overlay system.

Network-Generated Overlay

Network-generated overlays are instructions provided by a broadcaster,cable provider, or other content provider to vary content playback.Overlays can be defined and transmitted separately from the associatedcontent or embedded within such content. For example, a content providercan distribute content to many different recipients for redistributionto end consumers, with differing overlays provided to those recipients.In this manner, logos, tickers, and other overlays can be customized fora particular recipient or set of recipients. Such content variation canbe performed in a manner that is transparent to end consumers.

Network-generated overlays can be applied by local redistributors, suchas, for example, a cable company, radio station, online media provider,or other content provider. In addition, or alternatively, overlays canbe applied by the end consumers' media players.

Playback Control: Multiple Sources

Referring to FIG. 12, playback control is not limited to varying theplayback of a single source. Using the network media player 600, it ispossible to combine segments from multiple sources, and perform anyother variation technique described herein above, including deletion,reordering, overlaying, playback speed variation, insertion, alterationof presentation, and the like, to combine those sources for playback.For example, FIG. 12 illustrates the combination of three sensory works18: (i) the Academy Awards; (ii) the Super Bowl; and an audio track.Portions of these sensory works 18 may be combined according to one ormore playback control records 20. For example, a playback control record20 may be created to control the playback of a segment 1202 (marked A)of the Academy Awards, followed by a segment 1204 (marked B) of theSuper Bowl. Each of these segments (1202 and 1204) is one minute inlength for a combined total of two minutes. These segments (1202 and1204) are further combined with a two-minute segment 1206 (marked C) ofthe audio track resulting in combined segment labeled 1208.

Referring to FIG. 13, this technique may be generalized to permit thecombination of any number of sensory works to create user-controlledplayback on a network medial player 600. Data from one or more sensorywork sources 1302 are combined as defined by one or more playbackcontrol records 1304 to produce the resulting user-controlled playback1306. In FIG. 13, the one or more playback control records 1304 aredepicted as a funnel to illustrate that any number of sensory works 18from any source may be combined, altered, augmented, or varied in anymanner, including all those techniques described herein, to produceuser-defined playback, opening the door to endless possibilities of newapplications.

Social Networking Embodiment

Using the community features described herein above, playback controlrecords 20 may be shared in a social networking system. In oneimplementation, members of a social networking website contributeplayback control records 20, which can in turn be used by other members.For example, members of a social network can generate playback controlrecords 20 to control the playback of the Academy Awards, as discussedabove. Consider, for instance, three members of the social network, Amy,Bob, and Charlie, each recording the Academy Awards show using their ownDVR. Referring to FIG. 8, Amy creates and contributes a playback controlrecord 20 to show only those segments (A1) of the Academy Awards whereSean Penn appears, as shown in 804. Similarly, Bob contributes aplayback control record 20 (corresponding to 806) showing those segments(A2) of the Academy Awards where Angelina Jolie appears, and Charliecontributes a playback control record 20 (corresponding to 808) showingthose segments (A3) of the Academy Awards where Kate Winslet appears.These playback control records may be downloaded and used by the othermembers.

Contribution of Playback Control Records

Playback control records 20 may be created and captured using any of thetechniques described herein above. For example, a playback controlrecord 20 may be created by a user using a network media player 600, aDVR, a personal computer, a set-top box, a Blu-ray Disc player, aportable media player, or any other device. These playback controlrecords 20 are typically shared separately and distinctly from theassociated content. For example, the playback control records 20contributed by Amy, Bob, and Charlie are used without uploading theAcademy Award content. Instead, each member obtains access to theassociated content by recording, purchasing, or otherwise obtaining suchcontent. However, in some implementations, the playback control record20 is distributed together with the associated content, or attached toor embedded within the associated content.

In this implementation, playback control records 20 are uploaded to thesocial network system and made available for use by others.

Playback Control Record Popularity

Referring to FIG. 14, the social network system assists members inidentifying playback control records 20 that may be appealing byenabling members to express opinions regarding available playbackcontrol records 20. For example, in FIG. 14, two members (1402 and 1404)vote “thumbs down” on a particular playback control record, and twomembers (1406 and 1408) vote thumbs up. This allows members to identifythe most popular playback control records 20. For example, FIG. 15 showsavailable playback controls sorted by popularity.

As an alternative to, or in addition to the “thumbs up/thumbs down”rating system, the social network can use any other technique now knownor later developed for capturing and sharing user rankings andpreferences. For example, a social network system can use a ratingsystem like that used by Netflix. In such a system, playback controlrecords 20 would be ranked by members on a scale (e.g., from 1 to 5).Not only does the system allow members to view average ratings of aparticular playback control record 20, but it also allows members toview those playback control records 20 enjoyed by members who enjoyedthat particular playback control record 20.

Obtaining a Playback Control Record

In the social network system, playback control records 20 are storedwithout the associated content. Accordingly, a user that has notpurchase or otherwise obtained the content associated with a playbackcontrol record 20 cannot use that playback control record 20.Accordingly, the social network system can be configured to give membersthe option to only display those playback control record 20 usable bythat member. For example, a member that did not record the AcademyAwards, would not be able to use the playback control records 20uploaded by Amy, Bob, and Charlie.

In some implementations, content may be available for download, eitherthrough the social network system, or through another site. Such contentmay be made available for download with or without charge. Members maybe given several options when viewing available playback control records20, including: (i) display all playback control records; (ii) displayonly playback control records associated with my content; (iii) displayonly playback control records associated with downloadable content.Furthermore, members can choose whether or not to include content thatis provided for a fee.

As discussed herein above, the playback control records 20 identify theassociated content using some form of unique identifier. In this system,the social network system maintains a list of the content that iscurrently available to a member. For example, when a member records aprogram on a DVR, that information is used by the social network systemto make associated playback control records 20 available to that user.In addition, content purchased by a member in other formats (includingBlu-ray Discs, DVDs, and the like) may be included in such list. In oneembodiment, Blu-ray Disc players, network media players, and otherplayback devices are configured to as to identify new content in such away that it may be used by the social network system. For example, whena member plays a new Blu-ray Disc, the movie would be registered by theBlu-ray Disc player as content available to that member. To protect theprivacy of members, the list of available content may be stored locallyand used only to filter the results received from the social networkwebsite. Thus, no data regarding a member's available content istransmitted or otherwise shared.

Modification of Playback Control Records

In addition to creating and sharing original playback control records, amember can also modify existing playback control records. Onceretrieved, a playback control record 20 can be edited, or combined withother playback control records. For example, a member can download Amy'sand Bob's Academy Awards playback control records to create a new recordto playback those segments where either Sean Penn or Angelina Jolieappears.

Use of Playback Control Records

Playback control records 20 retrieved from the social network system maybe used in any manner described herein. In addition to selecting asingle playback control record, some implementations permit theselection of multiple playback control records. Referring to FIG. 16, auser selecting to view the Academy Awards is presented with a screen1600 identifying the available playback control records (1601, 1602,1603, 1604, 1605). Any of these playback control records can be selectedand combined for playback. Selected playback control records areindicated by a checkmark.

Some implementations provide additional control over how playbackcontrol records are combined. For example, selected playback controlrecords may be combined using Boolean logic operators AND, OR, NAND,NOR, XOR, NOT, and the like. This would enable, by way of example andnot by way of limitation, a user to select to include those segments ofthe Academy Awards where Angelina Jolie appears, except duringadvertisements (i.e., 1602 AND NOT 1604). In this manner, members areenabled to greatly enrich their content viewing experience.

CONCLUSION

We are inundated with sensory works 18. Much effort has been put in toidentifying, locating, and accessing particular sensory works 18 (e.g.,PVRs, Internet search technology, and the like); however, few processesare available to help one better process a particular sensory work 18.The techniques and systems described above are widely applicable to anysensory work 18, allowing a user, a company, or a community to create,use, and/or share metadata varying and/or controlling the playback of asensory work 18.

A number of implementations have been described. Nevertheless, it willbe understood that various modifications may be made without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, otherimplementations are within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A non-transitory computer readable storage mediumstoring one or more computer programs adapted to cause a processor basedsystem to execute steps comprising: receiving content; accessing acomputer network and locating a plurality of different playback controlrecords created for the content, wherein each of the plurality ofdifferent playback control records are configured to vary the contentduring playback of the content by both (a) inserting at least oneadvertisement into the content and by (b) varying the content in atleast one other manner chosen by a creator of each respective playbackcontrol record; receiving at least one of the located playback controlrecords; receiving the at least one advertisement; and varying thecontent during playback of the content according to the at least onelocated playback control record.
 2. The non-transitory computer readablestorage medium of claim 1, wherein the one or more computer programs arefurther adapted to cause the processor based system to execute stepscomprising: selecting the at least one advertisement based on profileinformation for a user of the processor based system.
 3. Thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein theplurality of different playback control records created for the contentare created by members of an online community, and the online communityis supported at least in part by created playback control records beingconfigured to insert at least one advertisement into each item ofcontent.
 4. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim1, wherein the varying the content in at least one other manner chosenby a creator of each respective playback control record comprises usingone or more from the group consisting of: deletion; insertion;reordering; overlaying; speed adjustment; and presentation modification.5. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1,wherein the plurality of different playback control records created forthe content are created by one or more users of the computer network. 6.The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1, whereinthe one or more computer programs are further adapted to cause theprocessor based system to execute steps comprising: identifying thecontent.
 7. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim1, wherein the step of receiving content comprises recording the contentas it is broadcast.
 8. The non-transitory computer readable storagemedium of claim 1, wherein the step of receiving content comprisesaccessing the content from a storage device.
 9. A method, comprising:receiving content; accessing a computer network, by a processor basedapparatus, and locating a plurality of different playback controlrecords created for the content, wherein each of the plurality ofdifferent playback control records are configured to vary the contentduring playback of the content by both (a) inserting at least oneadvertisement into the content and by (b) varying the content in atleast one other manner chosen by a creator of each respective playbackcontrol record; receiving at least one of the located playback controlrecords; receiving the at least one advertisement; and varying thecontent during playback of the content according to the at least onelocated playback control record.
 10. A media player, comprising: anetwork interface; an output port; and a processor configured to receivecontent, and access a computer network via the network interface andlocate a plurality of different playback control records created for thecontent, wherein each of the plurality of different playback controlrecords are configured to vary the content during playback of thecontent by both (a) inserting at least one advertisement into thecontent and by (b) varying the content in at least one other mannerchosen by a creator of each respective playback control record; whereinthe processor is further configured to receive at least one of thelocated playback control records, receive the at least oneadvertisement, vary the content during playback of the content accordingto the at least one located playback control record, and output thevaried content to the output port.